Tuesday, July 21, 2009

3D Animation Bonanza - King Kong And Killer Beans

You would be surprised at how many times that similar news items are sent to me by totally different people. Early this morning I was sent a link to a video featuring a 3D animated King Kong fighting a T-Rex, then a couple hours later I was sent a link to a 3D animated film about a bean who is a hired killer. Both links sent by different people on the same day, within a couple of hours of each other. Coincidence? Most certainly.

I just find it interesting how the universe works.

Anyway, both of these animated shorts are very good, so I decided to feature them together in one article to save time.

The first clip is called "Stopmo", a product of the labors of five college students. The short film depicts the classic battle between a stop motion King Kong vs a CGI Tyrannosaurus. The battle takes place in a long buried Hollywood effects studio, which is discovered by a lovely young female archaeologist.

The clip is very professional, and a great tribute to the special effects trade, demonstrating have movie magic has evolved over the decades.

The second animated feature is called "Killer Bean", which pretty much sums up the clips content. In a world inhabited by beans, a killer legume must face impossible odds to complete an impossible mission....or something like that.

This is only a trailer for a 90-minute film, produced independently by Jeff Lewis, an effects genius whose resume includes, "Xmen", "The Matrix-Reloaded", and "Transformers-Rise of the Fallen."

From what my source tells me, Lewis bailed out on his job on "The Matrix" to produce this film all by himself. A pretty amazing bit of work to be produced by just one man.

Again the animation on this one is superb. I can't wait to see if a distributor snatches this one up for either a theatrical release or direct to video release.

Honestly, I'm a big fan of 2D animation. I like it old-school, but these are two fine examples of how the medium can be used in intelligent and creative ways.